South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
On cusp of history?
Win could have Owls land in the top-25 poll for first time
BOCA RATON – Florida Atlantic closed out the 2019 season by making it a historic one, defeating SMU 52-28 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday at FAU Stadium.
The Owls won their second bowl game in three years despite the potential distractions over the past two weeks that could’ve gotten in the way.
There were the coaching rumors surrounding former coach Lane Kiffin, with Kiffin stepping down to take over the reins at Ole Miss immediately after FAU won its second conference title in the past three years before Willie Taggart took over the full-time head coaching position on Dec. 11
There were multiple starters missing from Saturday’s game due to various reasons: academic suspensions, injuries and personal choices.
And hours before the bowl game’s kickoff, reports came out that Jim Leavitt is set to replace
interim coach Glenn Spencer, who coached the Owls against the Mustangs, as the team’s defensive coordinator.
In spite of the whirlwind that surrounded the team, FAU pulled off a dominating victory that should give it strong consideration to finish the season as an AP top-25 team. The Owls haven’t been ranked in program history since joining the FBS in 2004.
The Owls punched first on Saturday, scoring the game’s first points with a redshirt junior running back BJ Emmons 1-yard touchdown rush with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
The Mustangs stuck with
FAU for most of the first half, tying the game at 14 with 2:12 left in the second quarter after an SMU running back Xavier Jones
1-yard rushing touchdown. From there, the Owls scored early and often, dominating SMU to tie their record for most wins in a season with 11.
Redshirt junior running back James Charles had a 15-yard touchdown run to cap off a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took one minute of time off the play clock to give FAU a 21-14 lead.
On the first play of the next drive, senior linebacker Rashad Smith picked off SMU quarterback Shane Buechele and returned the ball to the Mustangs’
13 with 42 seconds left in the second half.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Robison connected with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Brandon Robinson with a 13-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing drive to give the Owls’ a
28-14 lead heading into halftime. Smith’s interception was FAU’s 22nd of the season. He recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Owls’ their nation-leading 33 takeaway of the season.
FAU outscored SMU 24-14 in the second half, with the Mustangs scoring a touchdown with
1:07 left in the game. Robison finished 27 of 37 for
305 passing yards and two touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore holds the season FAU record for most completions
(291) and passing yards (3,701). Rusty Smith held the previous records with 281 completions and 3,688 passing yards.